South Carolina Basketball: 5-star wing, nation’s no. 2 player names Gamecocks in top group

The South Carolina basketball program is not known for bringing in 5-star talent. In fact, only GG Jackson, PJ Dozier, and Sindarius Thornwell came to Columbia with the highest of all recruiting rankings, and Dozier and Thornwell were not consensus 5 stars according to some outlets.

Nonetheless, second-year South Carolina basketball head coach Lamont Paris is taking some big swings in recruiting.

Over the weekend, the nation’s #2-ranked player released a top-16 list, and the Gamecocks made the cut.

Darryn Peterson, a 5-star shooting guard from Canton, Ohio, put South Carolina basketball on his list along with Auburn, Baylor, Oregon, Ohio State, Louisville, Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan, Michigan State, Kansas, Texas, UCLA, Arkansas, Kansas State, and Indiana.

The 6’5″ Darryn Peterson is the son of former Akron basketball player Darryl Peterson. He is playing his junior and senior seasons at Huntington Prep Academy in Huntington, West Virginia. According to his old high school coach, NIL money is a big reason for his transfer. It would be within reason, then, to expect that NIL will play a role in his college choice, as well.

As a player, Peterson is everything a team could want in a modern wing: he has size (6’5″), has long arms, is an explosive athlete, can score from all three levels, is an adept ball handler, has the frame and motor to defend well at the next level, and is capable of finishing near the basket with a diverse dunk/lay up package.

Peterson is a consensus 5-star prospect according to all four major recruiting outlets (On3, 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals), and he is believed to be as close to a “sure thing” as a player can be.

Fellow class of 2025 targets Eli Ellis and Hayden Assemian were on campus this weekend checking out the Gamecocks.

You can watch some of his film here.